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First off, a bow is my weapon of choice, and my RIA is something I love to shoot, but my skills totally suck (for now). I haven't had the opportunity to shoot it enough, nor have I had enough schooling on the weapon to shoot it well, but I'm getting better. I have been looking for someone to shoot it who could give me an assessment as to its accuracy. I was at an outdoor range last weekend, banging away, and there was a guy shooting next to me who was a fantastic, and very serious shooter. I asked him to put a few rounds into my target so I could have someone else confirm the accuracy of my RIA 9mm tactical. As soon as he found out that I had an RIA his eyes lit up and he told me that he would love to shoot it and that he had been wanting to shoot one for quite awhile.

His first shot was not so great because he wasn't used to the trigger pull on my weapon, my trigger is a lot lighter than what he normally shoots, but his next four rounds stacked together in a 1" group. He blasted away for a few more shots then grinned and said, "Yep' she's accurate." Next, he started raving about how much he liked the weight of the gun, how steady it held and generally he just went on and on about how great of a weapon that RIA was. Later I heard him talking to the range officer about how much he loved my RIA. The range officer was a friend and when he said to him, "I'll bet I know what your next purchase will be." the guy just grinned and said, "Yep."

I love my Rock and the day will come when I can shoot as well as that guy at the range (but it probably won't be tomorrow). For now though, I can shoot it with confidence knowing that when I miss it is not due to the quality of the weapon I am holding.

That is a nice feeling isn't it? Knowing that you have a good shooter, confirmed by someone who has the skills to make an accurate judgment call.
A bow is a great weapon, I prefer a recurve. If you are accustomed to shooting a recurve, or a bow without sights, then you have the discipline to shoot your 1911 very well. You just need to find the ideal grip that works for you and build a little muscle memory. You'll do just fine.

Its a nice feeling to be able to see the weapon is as accurate as you can be. My first RIA from years ago (which lately is my current carry piece) shot at best a 9" 5 shot spread at 25 yards off a rest, for myself and my buddy both. A long boring trip around the world later, it hits a 1.25" group consistently. I always check a weapon anymore off a rest once I've broken it in.

I don't think I'll ever be a "great" shot. So it was nice, a number of years ago, when I got my first 1911, to have another opinion on my gun. I was shooting at the range with a group of guys from my church. A guy unknown to me was with our small group. I pulled my nearly brand new (Springfield) 1911 out and he seemed to be eying it. I asked him if he would like to try it. He casually said sure, but was looking at it like he was unsure. I hoped to help him with it as he had brought a Glock and I figured he was unaware on the safeties and operation of the classic. He dutifully followed along as I described what was what on it. He then brought the gun up and dropped the whole magazine into a quarter coin sized group. He calmly turned to me, said "nice gun", and told me how in college he shot competition with 1911's for a number of years. He was very courteous as I felt just a little embarrassed for assuming he knew nothing. Great lesson in humility for me, but also a great opportunity to know what my gun was capable of. I value that lesson to this day.

My guns shoot better than me and that's fine. That's why I enjoy it.
Each outing I can challenge myself. I've gotten good enough ( or so I think) that I'll get mad at myself if I shoot badly. It's all good!

I'm happy to say, I'm that guy at the range. Being retired and on fixed income, I don't have the funds to spend as much time at the range as I would like so I volunteer a couple hours a week as range safety officer, giving me free range time. Working as RO also lets me work with new shooters.

I have a similar situation at the range I go to most often. My "tester" is a current customs agent who shoots most every Monday. I often have new guns and when I am unsure about how well a gun shoots, I ask my buddy to give it a go. He enjoys trying all of the different guns and there's no cost to him. And I let him shoot however many rounds he wants. Sometimes, it's only one mag. Other times he can shoot a box of 50 if he wants. Like me, he's an old geezer but he shoots like he could wipe the floor Jerry Miculek.

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